Steve Alcorn

This book was extremely disappointing. The organization of the book is dreadful with seemingly no clear focus throughout. At the end of every few chapters the author will offer a concluding paragraph for the section you just finished, except there are no sections delineated in the book. You jump from the author’s experience at Epcot, to daydreaming of a new ride, to a few pages on the history of the Disney parks, to designing entire parks, and back to any of the topics listed above. None of these topics are covered in any sort of detail.

There was a shocking lack of information for a 200-page book. Entire disciplines of engineering are covered in one or two paragraphs. The entire book screams for more depth and focus. It might have helped if the author focused solely on his expertise and provide some true insight into how the business works. There are nuggets of information in there, but you have to wade through pages of fluff to get there and when you do you are left wanting more.
Sprinkled throughout the book are annoying and snide marks about non-engineers involved in an attraction’s design (artists, schedulers, project managers). It seems the author believes Epcot was constructed only because of his superhuman efforts to outsmart all the minions around him. I suppose it he was trying to be cute and funny, but it just comes off crass.

It is also strange that in Chapter 31 that discusses block zones for vehicle control the author claims that roller coasters do not use this system. Apparently he hasn’t ventured out to see many modern roller coasters. If the coaster has multiple trains I guarantee it uses a block control system (see Bolliger & Mabillard’s roller coasters for an example).

If you’re looking for a book to give you insight into theme park attraction design, keep on looking because this is not the book.… (plus d'informations)

This book is a must-have for anyone interested in the engineering side of theme park design.

Steve Alcorn is the co-author of Building a Better Mouse, one of the few books to take an insider look at building a Disney attraction. He formed Alcorn McBride in 1986 and the company has become the leader in show control, lighting, audio and video equipment for the theme park industry. Steve also teaches a class about theme park imagineering. You can find more information at Imagineering Class.

Spread over 50 chapters, Steve takes us through every step of theme park design from an engineer's perspective, making this book very unique. The Walt Disney Imagineering books favor the artistic side of Imagineering while Steve shows us everything that has to happen once the designs are set. After reading Theme Park Design, you will garner a monumental sense of what it takes to design and construct an attraction.

Steve has a great style and he is careful to steer us away from jargon, overtly-technical terms and engineering play-by-play. Often, Steve will start out with a description of a specific engineering tract and slide into an anecdote about EPCOT or another theme park attraction. I would say that those were the hidden gems of the book, but Steve is so affable that the entire book has a friendly, charming and excited tone. It is obvious that Steve loves what he does and wants to share it with the world.

Not only do you see the amount of people it takes to imagineer an attraction, but you get a glimpse of all of the different disciplines involved. For example, Steve spends a good amount of time describing and differentiating the various jobs/titles that are used in building an attraction (project engineer vs. system engineer or directors vs. producers). It is surprising how much information Steve is able to relate on such a personable level.

Anyone looking for an insider's perspective about working in the theme park field must read this book. Especially if you are looking for a career in the industry; Steve offers a chapter about what he typically looks for in a potential candidate. Take his advice seriously--he is someone who hires in the industry and works with the big names in themed design.

Plus, how you you go wrong when you read that Steve's favorite dark ride is Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!… (plus d'informations)

There is a very good book here. Unfortunately, this isn’t that book.

On the plus side, there is a lot of detailed information on what it was like to work on Epcot before the opening. It particularly focuses on the electrical engineering aspects, and most particularly on the American Adventure attraction. There are some very fun stories that give a good feel for the hectic approach that resulted from trying to get everything done at once for the big opening.

On the negative side, there really is nothing but the stories. Two examples show this at it worst. First example: there is a chapter title “Club 33” that is nothing more than a two-page reminiscence of getting to go into Club 33. Second example: towards the end of the book the authors just resort (in two chapters) to providing exact quotes from a tape another imagineer kept to record what was occurring.

This is part of a bigger story. And somewhere in here is a great narrative. But none of that is evident, and that lack makes this book barely worth the time. If all you want are a few fun stories, then this fits the bill. But a book should do much more.… (plus d'informations)